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Tag Archives: animal behavior
Can birdsong signal immune gene quality?
This post is by MSU postdoc Joel Slade. “BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!” – I wake up to the dreaded sound of my alarm clock at 3:45 am in my cabin. Even though it’s mid-April at the Queen’s University Biological Station in Elgin … Continue reading
Posted in BEACON Researchers at Work, Notes from the Field
Tagged animal behavior, BEACON Researchers at Work, Biological Evolution, communication, Field Biology, fitness, mate choice, MHC, sexual selection
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Smells like Mean Sprit
This post is written by BEACON’s own managing director Danielle Whittaker about her work that has been accepted pending minor revisions in a special issue of Journal of Comparative Physiology A. Fighting is risky – at best, it uses up energy … Continue reading
Posted in BEACON Researchers at Work, Notes from the Field
Tagged animal behavior, BEACON Researchers at Work, communication, Field Biology, Juncos
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Africa’s next top animal intelligence model
This post is written by MSU grad student Lily Johnson-Ulrich Spotted hyenas are found in just about every habitat in sub-Saharan Africa including human-disturbed areas and fully urbanized ones (i.e., cities) (Yirga Abay, Bauer, Gebrihiwot, & Deckers, 2010). While most large carnivores … Continue reading
Posted in BEACON Researchers at Work
Tagged animal behavior, BEACON Researchers at Work, Field Biology, hyenas, intelligence
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Individual and Population Variation Pop-Up Institute at UT Austin
This post is written by UT Austin grad student Rayna Harris and postdoc Tessa Solomon-Lane Innovative science is increasingly interdisciplinary. With our Pop-Up Institute in May 2017, we aim to expand beyond the traditional scope of interdisciplinary collaboration to make meaningful … Continue reading
Posted in BEACON Researchers at Work, BEACONites, Member Announcements
Tagged animal behavior, BEACON Researchers at Work, big data, Biological Evolution, Education, genomics
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Big things happen in small rodents: grasshopper mice as a model for the evolution of pain resistance
This post is written by MSU grad student Lauren Koenig Life in the desert is full of extremes. Daytime temperatures are scorching, monsoon rains are torrential, and plants are sparse and spiky. Yet many desert animals, such as grasshopper mice (Onychomys torridus) … Continue reading
Posted in BEACON Researchers at Work
Tagged animal behavior, BEACON Researchers at Work, coevolution, Field Biology, predator-prey
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Love is in the air (or maybe it’s just bacteria)
This post is written by BEACON managing director Danielle Whittaker When we fall in love with someone else, is it because they are our soul mates… or is it because we like the way their microbes smell? We think a lot … Continue reading
Posted in BEACON Researchers at Work
Tagged animal behavior, bacteria, BEACON Researchers at Work, communication, Field Biology, Juncos
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Better Together: Of Hyenas and Men
This post is written by MSU grad student Zachary M. Laubach “A guy needs somebody―to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I … Continue reading
Posted in BEACON Researchers at Work, Notes from the Field
Tagged animal behavior, BEACON Researchers at Work, Epigenetics, Field Biology, hyenas
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Life Isn’t Fair
This post is by MSU PhD candidate Eli Strauss “That’s not fair!” These were the words I uttered as a child anytime I felt that someone or something had unjustly slighted me. “Life isn’t fair,” my parents would tell me, which … Continue reading
Posted in BEACON Researchers at Work
Tagged animal behavior, BEACON Researchers at Work, hyenas, social behavior
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Culture, Sociality, & Evolution
This Evolution 101 post is by MSU grad student Alex Lalejini Culture and Chimpanzees Our species is incredibly social, and one of the major products of our sociality is culture. People typically imagine culture to be exclusive to humans. The idea … Continue reading
Posted in Evolution 101
Tagged animal behavior, Cooperation, Evolution 101
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Evolution of Reliable Signals
This Evolution 101 post is by MSU grad student Thassyo Pinto The ownership of goods such as luxury cars, expensive boats and conspicuous consumption, and showing it off to others, transmits a signal informing that owner is capable of bearing expenses. … Continue reading
Posted in Evolution 101
Tagged animal behavior, Evolution 101, fitness, predator-prey, sexual selection
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